Review: Noteable Theatre Company Brings Its Production of LES MISERABLES To The Larger Concourse Theatre Stage.

Friday 5th March 2021, 7:30pm, Concourse Theatre, Chatswood

Following on from a successful Glen Street Theatre season, Noteable Theatre Company (formerly Manly Musical Society) delivers an encore season of it's 2019 production of LES MISÉRABLES at the larger Chatswood Concourse Theatre. Director Rob Herbert reunites his original creative team and a number of the original cast to present Claude-Michel Schönberg (music), Herbert Kretzmer (English Lyrics), and Alain Boubil and Jean-Marc Natel's (both original French text) much loved musical that premiered in Paris just over 40 years ago (24th September 1980).

Given that the musical adaptation of LES MISÉRABLES has a swathe of awards for the original and revival productions on the West End, Broadway and around the world, a multi award winning major motion picture adaptation in 2012 and holds the record of being the longest running musical in the West End, most people with even the faintest interest in musical theatre would be familiar with the adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel that was first published in 1862. It tracks the life of ex-convict turned respectable businessman Jean Valjean (Marcus James Hurley) and his nemesis, prison guard turned fanatical police inspector Javert (Lachlan O'Brien), culminating in the Paris Uprising of June 1832. Understood to be inspired by Hugo's own observations and encounters along with accounts from real people, a number of stories are woven around Valjean's journey to share a tale about morals, religion, politics, justice and love, both familial and romantic. The degree of familiarity that audiences have with the work and the caliber of the performers who have filled the leading roles over the years makes it an ambitious undertaking for any director, but thankfully Herbert has gathered a cast of incredibly strong singers that are more than capable at taking on the challenging score, with many of the lead cast reprising their performances.

Sets, designed by Brenton Staples, and costumes, designed by Victoria Horne, have been hired from CLOC Musical Theatre ensuring a high production value although there do appear to be some historical inaccuracies in the costuming such as cage crinolines and fishnet stockings though it is not clear if these are changes for this production. While the choice to present Fantine in streetwalker rags as soon as she visits the dangerous streets of Montreuil-Sur-Mer feels incongruous with Fantine's subtext that she is being gradually broken with her body being the final asset she must reluctantly trade it is potentially done as a result of a concern that a quick costume change would not be achievable. Ongoing issues also relate to the quality, or lack thereof, of the wigs that provide more of a distraction than they should be.

The design of Brenton Staples' staging echoes the professional revival which utilized more traditional scenic design of static floor and wagon mounted set elements which is also much more financially viable for community and amateur theatre companies though can cause excess noise issues in transitions made while performers are singing such as the hidden set up of the barricade during Eponine's (Liz Cornwall) On My Own. It also utilizes projections to help reinforce the settings, from the sailing ship in which the chain gang is manning oars in the Prologue, the shadows of Digne Cathedral, and the streets of Paris where the students and workers of Paris had built their barricades following the death of General Jean Maximilien Lamarque though the opportunity to use it during Javert's Stars has been overlooked. Lighting designer James Wallis creates the requisite shifts in time along with the expression of dingy spaces which Paris' poor inhabit while giving full light to spaces like Thénardier's Inn and the morning battle at the Barricade though the intensity of the fight that left most of the revolutionaries dead could have been heightened with better timed lights and more expressions of gun and cannon fire. The sound design eventually balanced out after initial issues and hopefully with time the performers will learn more strategies to avoid bumping the body microphones though it is noted that the Audio engineers did manage to quickly deal with Grantaire's faulty microphone.

It appears that director Rod Herbert has attempted to adjust this performance for the larger space, making accommodations for the assumption that the audience would not see nuanced expression and believing that the additional space should be fully utilized. This has led to several overwrought expressions during solos when he hasn't trusted the performers vocals and their own intuition He has also incorporated a degree of extraneous unnatural movement that has no apparent purpose aside from trying to utilize more of the stage or moving a character to create an aesthetically nice image even though it serves no purpose to the story. He has also chosen to take some elements too literally, resulting in comical expressions, from the Halloween costume shop ball and chain accoutrements for the Prologue and the reveal of a length of chain during The Confrontation, a piece that has historically had Javert armed with either the policeman's faithful truncheon or manacles, both items that are congruent with the character who appears to be a 'by the book' type rather than a thug that would bring an unauthorized weapon to an arrest. Marcus James Hurley delivers a strong performance as Jean Valjean, providing a clear pure tenor tone that is infused with the requisite texture that allows the music to express Valjean's emotion and inner conflicts. With much of Valjean's solos being introspections and narrations of thoughts as he tries to come to terms with what is happening Hurley ensures the audience is drawn into the story with well managed eye contact with the audience, something not often seen well executed in musical theatre. His vocals are comparable with the greats that have filled the role on international stages. He gives a generally intuitive expression of the character though there are times that it seems that he has been directed to add extraneous movement and over dramatization. As Javert, Lachlan O'Brien captures the gravitas of the single-minded law enforcer with his rich baritone. His vocals are all strong and clear and capture the requisite emotion, but the character is somewhat overacted when he should be letting the music do the heavy lifting of the work. Keira Connelly's Fantine captures the innocence of the young woman just trying to make enough to pay for her child, giving an underlying air that she has fallen into her position from better past. She has a beautiful clear tone and Herbert's tendency to want solos over dramatized is made to work for Come To Me as Connelly infuses the vocals with a delirious madness of a terminally ill mother who knows she'll never see her child again. For opening night Sam Hamilton returned to the role of Marius to cover illness of the listed performer, delivering a beautifully genuine expression of the young revolutionary student. Potentially having had less time for reworking he gives a balanced expression of honest sentiment and intuitive movement while allowing the music to carry the weight of the emotion. Reece Lyndon's presentation of the leader of the revolutionaries, Enjolras, makes it clear that he is the driving force behind the group without being overbearing. While he's the most idealistic Lyndon ensures that he is still seen as having humanity and an awareness and grief for those that fall before him. Lovestruck street waif and mistreated teenage daughter of the Thénardiers Éponine is presented with beautiful naivety by Liz Cornwall who ensures that the uneducated girl has an underlying innocence despite having a degree of street sense bought about by being forced to follow her parents' dodgy path. Protected and pampered grown up Cosette, Jean Valjean's ward, is presented with an elegance and grace although a little too much extraneous movement by Isabelle Kohout who presents a pure soprano in which she ensures the lyrics remain understandable, something not all performers of the role manage to do.

Musically, this production of LES MISÉRABLES is incredibly solid with vocals that are consistently strong across the whole cast, from leads through to ensemble and child cast which is rare for community and amateur theatre. Hopefully as the cast get comfortable with the larger theatre, they will gain confidence that subtle and nuanced performances will get the message across, even to the back of the Dress Circle, and they'll pull back from the overplaying the physical expressions of emotions.

https://www.noteabletheatrecompany.com/les-miserables-2021/

Photos: Provided by Producers

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